My London: Historic Garvey House was party central

This 1998 photo from the book Downtown London: Layers Of Time shows the iconic Garvey Building (or Garvey House) when it was home to the Dominion Automobile Association. (John Tamblyn, Special to The Free Press)

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Somewhere, John Garvey is smiling about the latest developments at the downtown London wholesale grocery warehouse he built more than a century ago.

Once known as the jewel in the Garvey crown, the 201 King St. building is being purchased by the umbrella agency for London non-profits, Pillar Non-Profit Network, along with Emerging Leaders, the London Arts Council and the London Heritage Council.

Armagh, Ireland-born Garvey built the lovely old edifice about 1910-12. Formerly a downtown grocer, Garvey had gone into the wholesale business, helming John Garvey & Sons, late in the 19th century. Groceries, wines and liquors were the Garvey stock in trade. His son, John P. Garvey, took over the business.

The younger Garvey retired in 1929, selling to the old Bank of Toronto, in a move possibly influenced by the onset of the Depression.

No photos of John Garvey (Dec. 28, 1842 - Jan. 26, 1927) are readily available. There is, however, the majestic image of “a Garvey crock,” which was used in the Garvey House entry in that fine book Downtown London: Layers Of Time.

The crock was presumably full of the best hooch around.

Wording on the crock says Garvey, based at 156 Dundas St., was “successor to Frank Smith.”

Material at the LPL’s Ivey Family London Room shows Garvey’s family arrived in Canada in 1848. The 1881 census has him as “John Garvy,” 34, a Peterborough-area merchant. Little John P. was seven.

The Garveys likely moved to London about 1885, eventually settling at the old 141 Maple St. More than 25 years later, John Garvey was building his warehouse and office headquarters. It was “Italianate in design,” says Downtown London. It had “a prominent, deep roofline cornice . . . (and) ground-floor windows . . . 10 feet above street level,” the book says.

On the way to being the home base of GoodLife Fitness, the building had such owners as Kellogg’s, the federal government and the Dominion Automobile Association.

Heritage buzz says the Garvey House (or Garvey Building) has been fortunate to have been owned by a succession of proprietors who maintained it. Ottawa spent $150,000 on renovations at one point.

The new deal will cost $4.1 million, including renovations, but the price paid to GoodLife Fitness hasn’t been disclosed. GoodLife will move out next year and Pillar and partners will take over early in 2016.

It’s to become a “social innovation shared space,” billed as a common model for non-profits.

Once again, John Garvey’s fine old warehouse is a cause for celebration in My London — and yours, too, I hope.

Appropriately, John Garvey may have touched off one of London’s biggest impromptu parties as a core merchant.

That happened at the dawn of the 20th century and his son, John P. Garvey, may have nodded to it in an amusing way.

John P. Garvey, who died at 80 in 1954, was also an avid local historian. A series of his articles is preserved on microfilm at the London Room.

They build toward the night of Jan. 11, 1900, when “a wholesale London merchant” is working late. Just as Jan. 12 begins, the unnamed merchant passes the old Free Press building on Richmond St.

Doesn’t this sound like his father coming home to the house at Maple St. (now Dufferin Ave.) from 156 Dundas?

He sees a bulletin announcing the relief of Kimberley, which had been besieged since October in the Boer War.

In John P. Garvey’s telling, the wholesaler races back to his business. He puts on the lights and raises all the flags he has.

Then he meets Dr. Niven who’s heading to Bossom A. Mitchell’s drug store, 114 Dundas St., which is open till 1 a.m. daily. The two go back to The Free Press and see a later bulletin, confirming the British triumph. The wholesaler is ready to party later in the day.

The doctor recalls the massive celebrations in London when Sebastopol fell to Britain and its allies in the Crimean War in 1855. “To hell with daylight. We will have the celebration now,” says the good doctor. Niven then runs to city hall, then also downtown, to spread the viral news.

Yep. All London partied like it was 1900. Maybe some “Garvey crocks” were opened to keep the flow going.

Faster than any social-media meme, John Garvey found himself at the heart of a London party. Now, his shade can look forward to celebrating a heritage victory.